Method and apparatus for provisioning secondary content based on primary content

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, identifying a region of interest included in a plurality of candidate regions of interest associated with a presentation of a first content item on a user equipment, wherein the first content item includes a panoramic video, comparing first metadata associated with the region of interest to a plurality of metadata associated with a plurality of secondary content items, responsive to the comparing, identifying a second content item included in the plurality of secondary content items, wherein the identifying of the second content item is based on a distance between the first metadata and second metadata associated with the second content item being less than a threshold, and transmitting the second content item to the user equipment responsive to the identifying of the second content item. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/106,448 filed Aug. 21, 2018. All sections of the aforementionedapplication are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to a method and apparatus forprovisioning panoramic content.

BACKGROUND

Panoramic content can provide users with a unique, immersive experiencethat is otherwise unavailable with more conventional/traditionalcontent. A user can control the content she consumes/observes bychanging her viewing direction, for example. As a result, even for thesame panoramic content, two different users may observe differentportions of the same item of content, creating a unique immersiveexperience for each of the users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a communications network in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a system functioning within the communication network ofFIG. 1 in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2B depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system for transmittingand receiving primary and secondary content in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 2C depicts a database that stores various items of primary contentin accordance with aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 2D depicts a database that stores various items of secondarycontent in accordance with aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 2E depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2F depicts a positon, a size, and a central point of a field ofview (FoV) relative to a marker in a horizontal plane in accordance withvarious aspects described herein.

FIG. 2G depicts a (central point of a) FoV in a vertical direction inaccordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2H depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a virtualized communication network in accordance withvarious aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of amobile network platform in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acommunication device in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments for identifying/selecting secondary content that is relatedto primary content received and/or presented by a user equipment. Otherembodiments are described in the subject disclosure.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a selection and adelivery of primary content for presentation by the user equipment.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include an identificationof a region of interest (ROI) included in the primary content.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include anidentification/selection of secondary content related to the ROI. Theidentification of the secondary content may be based on additionalconsiderations.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a transmission ofthe secondary content to the user equipment for receipt and presentationby the user equipment.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram is shown illustrating anexample, non-limiting embodiment of a communications network 100 inaccordance with various aspects described herein. For example,communications network 100 can facilitate, in whole or in part, aprovisioning of supplemental content associated with a first contentitem (e.g., a panoramic video). In some embodiments, aselected/identified region of interest (ROI) included in a plurality ofcandidate ROIs associated with a presentation of the first content itemmay be identified. First tags/metadata associated with the identifiedROI may be compared to a plurality of metadata associated with aplurality of secondary content items. Based on, or responsive to, thecomparison, a second content item included in the plurality of secondarycontent items may be identified. The second content item may beidentified based on a difference/distance between the first metadata andsecond metadata associated with the second content item being less thana threshold. In some embodiments, the second content item may beprovided/transmitted to, e.g., a user equipment for presentation at theuser equipment.

Referring back to FIG. 1, a communications network 125 is presented forproviding broadband access 110 to a plurality of data terminals 114 viaaccess terminal 112, wireless access 120 to a plurality of mobiledevices 124 and vehicle 126 via base station or access point 122, voiceaccess 130 to a plurality of telephony devices 134, via switching device132 and/or media access 140 to a plurality of audio/video displaydevices 144 via media terminal 142. In addition, communication network125 is coupled to one or more content sources 175 of audio, video,graphics, text and/or other media. While broadband access 110, wirelessaccess 120, voice access 130 and media access 140 are shown separately,one or more of these forms of access can be combined to provide multipleaccess services to a single client device (e.g., mobile devices 124 canreceive media content via media terminal 142, data terminal 114 can beprovided voice access via switching device 132, and so on).

The communications network 125 includes a plurality of network elements(NE) 150, 152, 154, 156, etc. for facilitating the broadband access 110,wireless access 120, voice access 130, media access 140 and/or thedistribution of content from content sources 175. The communicationsnetwork 125 can include a circuit switched or packet switched network, avoice over Internet protocol (VoIP) network, Internet protocol (IP)network, a cable network, a passive or active optical network, a 4G, 5G,or higher generation wireless access network, WIMAX network,UltraWideband network, personal area network or other wireless accessnetwork, a broadcast satellite network and/or other communicationsnetwork.

In various embodiments, the access terminal 112 can include a digitalsubscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM), cable modem terminationsystem (CMTS), optical line terminal (OLT) and/or other access terminal.The data terminals 114 can include personal computers, laptop computers,netbook computers, tablets or other computing devices along with digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modems, data over coax service interfacespecification (DOCSIS) modems or other cable modems, a wireless modemsuch as a 4G, 5G, or higher generation modem, an optical modem and/orother access devices.

In various embodiments, the base station or access point 122 can includea 4G, 5G, or higher generation base station, an access point thatoperates via an 802.11 standard such as 802.11n, 802.11ac or otherwireless access terminal. The mobile devices 124 can include mobilephones, e-readers, tablets, phablets, wireless modems, and/or othermobile computing devices.

In various embodiments, the switching device 132 can include a privatebranch exchange or central office switch, a media services gateway, VoIPgateway or other gateway device and/or other switching device. Thetelephony devices 134 can include traditional telephones (with orwithout a terminal adapter), VoIP telephones and/or other telephonydevices.

In various embodiments, the media terminal 142 can include a cablehead-end or other TV head-end, a satellite receiver, gateway or othermedia terminal 142. The display devices 144 can include televisions withor without a set top box, personal computers and/or other displaydevices.

In various embodiments, the content sources 175 include broadcasttelevision and radio sources, video on demand platforms and streamingvideo and audio services platforms, one or more content data networks,data servers, web servers and other content servers, and/or othersources of media.

In various embodiments, the communications network 125 can includewired, optical and/or wireless links and the network elements 150, 152,154, 156, etc. can include service switching points, signal transferpoints, service control points, network gateways, media distributionhubs, servers, firewalls, routers, edge devices, switches and othernetwork nodes for routing and controlling communications traffic overwired, optical and wireless links as part of the Internet and otherpublic networks as well as one or more private networks, for managingsubscriber access, for billing and network management and for supportingother network functions.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a system 200 a functioning within the communicationnetwork of FIG. 1 in accordance with various aspects described herein.In particular, and as described above, aspects of the disclosure may beapplied in conjunction with a first content item, such as for example apanoramic video. Still further, a panoramic video may include a360-degree video.

Panoramic videos may be recorded by omnidirectional cameras or cameraarray systems, and then “wrapped” onto at least a portion of athree-dimensional (3D) sphere (e.g., 3D sphere 202 a), with the camerasat or proximate a center 204 a of the sphere. When watching a panoramicvideo, a user/viewer at the spherical center 204 a can freely controlher viewing direction, so each playback may create a unique viewingexperience. The control of viewing directions may be achieved through,e.g., head movement when using a head-mounted device, hand/fingermovement when using a mobile/portable communication device (e.g., aphone or a tablet), a mouse click when using a laptop or desktopcomputer, or use of a remote control or trackball when using a displaydevice such as a television. Other techniques, such as for examplegesture recognition, may be used. One or more combinations of thecontrols described above may be used.

As shown in FIG. 2A, a virtual reality (VR) headset 206 a can be used toadjust a viewing orientation by changing the pitch, yaw, and/or roll,which correspond to movement (e.g., rotation) along the super-imposed X,Y, and Z axes, respectively. The headset 206 a may support operations inaccordance with six degrees/dimensions of freedom. For example, the X,Y, and Z axes collectively represent three dimensions of freedom, andmovement along any one of the axes (e.g., in a plus or minus direction)represents another degree/dimension of freedom.

Panoramic video players may compute and display the viewing area basedon the viewing orientation and the field of view (FoV). The FoV definesthe extent of an observable area 208 a, which may be a fixed or dynamicparameter of the VR headset 206 a. In an illustrative embodiment, theobservable area 208 a may be 110° horizontally (+/−10%) and 90°vertically (+/−10%). Other values of the observable area 208 a may beused in some embodiments.

A number of projection schemes may be used for creating/generatingpanoramic videos. As used herein, a projection is a transformation ofthe locations from the surface of a sphere (e.g., sphere 202 a) intolocations on a plane (where the plane may substantially correspond tothe observable area 208 a). As one skilled in the art would appreciate,two popular/common projection techniques are equirectangular and cubemap.

In terms of panoramic video streaming, a simple technique that may beused is to deliver all panoramic views to a user equipment/clientdevice, even if the user equipment is not oriented to consume/present aparticular view. Such a technique simplifies the determinations thatneed to be made by, e.g., a content delivery server. However, thistechnique of delivering all the video content/panoramic views is notespecially network friendly (e.g., may lead to unnecessary networkcongestion or bandwidth utilization), as a user likely will watch only afraction of the transmitted video. For more advanced schemes/techniquesthat perform viewport adaptation, the schemes can generally be dividedinto two categories: (1) a tile based scheme, and (2) a version basedscheme.

In a tile based scheme, a panoramic video may be spatially segmentedinto tiles. Tiles that are within the FoV may be transmitted (at arelative high degree of quality), whereas tiles that are outside of theFoV are either not transmitted or are transmitted at a lower degree ofquality.

In a version based scheme, a panoramic video may be encoded intomultiple versions, with each version including a different high-qualityregion. A user equipment may select an appropriate version for receipt(e.g., download, streaming, etc.) based on a user's viewingdirection/FoV. One practical drawback of the version based scheme isthat it may incur significant overhead at, e.g., a server or databasedue to the maintenance (e.g., storage) of the different versions of thevideo.

As described above, while panoramic videos offer users a unique andimmersive viewing experience, a user frequently desires more informationor (secondary) content in relation to (first) content (e.g., objects,scenes, regions, etc.) that the user is observing. For example, theinformation or secondary content may include an advertisement thatcorresponds to an object in a panoramic video that is being viewed by auser. For traditional advertising which uses coarse-granularity contentanalysis, two different users viewing the same set of videos willreceive the same targeted advertisements, as the analysis is merelybased on the genre of the videos or retrieved textual information (e.g.,captions).

In contrast, aspects of this disclosure facilitate and provide for aprovisioning of secondary content (e.g., advertisements) that coincidewith/correspond to one or more portions of a first/primary content itemthat are observed by a user. In this respect, a finer granularity may beobtained in terms of an identification of a portion of primary contentthat a particular user actually observed, such that the secondarycontent that may be provided (e.g., transmitted) to the user (orassociated user equipment) can be customized/tailored to that user. Forexample, once the portion of the primary content that is observed by auser is identified, it may be possible to determine (e.g., infer) theuser's probable interests. Such probable interests may beidentified/based at least in part on a collaborative filteringtechnique.

Aspects of the disclosure may be used to provide personalized secondarycontent (e.g., advertisements) while assisting contentcreators/generators in reaching users that are most likely to beinterested in the secondary content. Aspects of the disclosure mayassist resource (e.g., network) operators increase (e.g., maximize)efficiency in terms of a ratio of realized user interest per unit ofresource used/consumed; in an online advertising context, this ratio isfrequently referred to as a click through rate (CTR) and isrepresentative of the rate at which users select advertisements that arepresented.

While some of the examples described herein relate to panoramic content,aspects of the disclosure may be applied in connection withnon-panoramic content. For example, for a non-panoramic video, a gazetracking technique may be applied/used to identify secondary contentthat is likely to be of interest to a user. Based on an analysis of aportion of the non-panoramic video that is actually observed by the user(where the portion is identified based on the gaze tracking technique,or any other technique), the secondary content may beidentified/determined.

Aspects of the disclosure provide for a passivedetermination/identification of portions of content that are actuallyobserved by a user. Aspects of the disclosure may include anaffirmative/active determination/identification of such portions. Forexample, a user may provide an indication of a portion of content thatis being consumed by speaking into a microphone of a user equipment. Theuser may utter an expression, such as for example a statement that “theflower shown in this video is beautiful”. On the basis of such astatement, a determination may be made that the user is viewing a flowerdepicted in a video presented on a user equipment. Secondary contentassociated with the flower may be identified on the basis of thestatement.

Aspects of the disclosure may be applied in conjunction with text,images, or videos that may be presented on a website. For example,keywords associated with the website may be identified and secondarycontent (e.g., advertisements) that are based on the keywords may beidentified/selected. For example, if a user is visiting a website thatis associated with a sporting event (e.g., a basketball game), the usermay be presented with advertisements associated with sporting goodsstores or ticket brokers. In some embodiments, secondary content (e.g.,advertisements) may be embedded in primary content (e.g., searchresults) that are returned by a search engine. The primary content(e.g., the search results) may be based on keywords provided by auser/user equipment.

Aspects of the disclosure may be applied in conjunction with contextualadvertising. In connection with contextual advertising, an advertisermay apply one or more techniques to target users with a specified set oftraits. For example, an advertiser associated with a sporting goodsstore may identify a pool/collection of users with traits (e.g., aremembers of a gym or team, have watched or attended a number of sportsgames/events above a threshold amount, etc.) that are likely indicativeof an interest in merchandise sold/distributed by the sporting goodsstore. Similarly, in relation to personalized advertising (which is alsoknown as interest-based advertising), an advertiser may provideadvertisements to users based on their interests (which may be specifiedin, e.g., a social media profile, a web blog or chat board, etc.) ordemographics (e.g., a user is above or below a given age, has an incomeabove or below a threshold amount, has achieved a particular educationlevel/status, occupation, etc.).

Referring to FIG. 2B, a system 200 b for identifying secondary content(e.g., advertisements) in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthis disclosure is shown. The system 200 b may include a user/userequipment 202 b, a first server 204 b, and a second server 206 b. Whilethe first server 204 b and the second server 206 b are shown separatelyin FIG. 2B, in some embodiments the first server 204 b and the secondserver 206 b may correspond to a same/common server.

The system 200 b may be used to provide content/content items to theuser equipment 202 b. For example, such content may include primarycontent 208 b and secondary content 210 b. In some embodiments, theprimary content 208 b may include one or more of a panoramic video, webcontent, audio (e.g., music), etc. In some embodiments, the secondarycontent 210 b may include an advertisement/coupon that may be presentedin one or more forms (e.g., an email, a text message, an auditorymessage, an image, a video, etc.).

In some embodiments, the secondary content 210 b may be at leastpartially embedded in the primary content 208 b. For example, thesecondary content 210 b may be received by the user equipment 202 bsubstantially simultaneously with the receipt of (at least a portion of)the primary content 208 b by the user equipment 202 b. In someembodiments, the secondary content 210 b may be at least partiallyseparated/segregated from the primary content 208 b. For example, thesecondary content 210 b may be received by the user equipment 202 bsubsequent to the receipt of the primary content 208 b by the userequipment 202 b.

In operation, the user equipment 202 b may generate and transmit arequest for content as represented by the arrow 222 b. Providing contentbased on a request (e.g., the request 222 b) for the same may bereferred to herein as (an application of) a “pull” model/technique. Insome embodiments, content may be provided to the user equipment 202 bwithout an affirmative request (e.g., request 222 b) being generated forsuch content in the first instance. Providing content without a request(e.g., request 222 b) being present may be referred to herein as (anapplication of) a “push” model/technique.

The request 222 b may pertain to the primary content 208 b and/or thesecondary content 210 b. For example, in the context of a panoramicvideo associated with a botanical garden, the user equipment 202 b maytransmit a search term/phrase such as “botanical garden videos” on theuser equipment 202 b. The request 222 b may include additionalinformation, such as for example an identification of (a capability of)the user equipment 202 (e.g., a make, model, and/or serial number of theuser equipment), an identification of a user (e.g., a username), acredential (e.g., a biometric credential such as a fingerprint orretinal scan of a user of the user equipment 202 b, a password orpersonal identification number of the user, currency/payment, etc.), aprofile (e.g., a social media profile of the user or the user'scontacts/friends, a history/log of activities undertaken by the user orcontent/media consumed by the user equipment 202 b or the user, etc.), alocation of the user equipment 202 b (which may be based on atriangulation technique, GPS coordinates, an IP address associated withthe user equipment 202 b or another device associated with, or incommunication with, the user equipment 202 b, etc.), etc. To the extentthat (at least a portion of) the primary content 208 b is beingpresented at the user equipment 202 b, the request 222 b may include anidentification of a region of interest (ROI) in the primary content 208b as described further below.

The first server 204 b may receive the request 222 b and process therequest to identify (one or more portions of) the primary content 208 bas represented by the arrow 224 b. For example, the first server 204 bmay select (the one or more portions of) the primary content 208 b basedon an analysis of one or more of the factors/parameters/conditionsdescribed above in connection with the request 222 b.

The primary content 208 b may include, or have associated therewith, oneor more tags or metadata, such as for example tags/metadata 212 b. Thetags/metadata 212 b may be used for purposes of comparison as describedfurther below. The tags/metadata 212 b may include keywords associatedwith a ROI as described further below.

The first server 204 b may obtain the (one or more portions of the)primary content 208 b from a library/database that is accessible by thefirst server 204 b. For example, and referring to FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C,the first server 204 b may obtain the (one or more portions of the)primary content 208 b from a database 200 c. The database 200 c maystore other content items, such as for example content items 208 b-1 and208 b-2. The content items 208 b-1 and 208 b-2 may correspond toportions of the primary content 208 b that are not being observed by auser (e.g., are located outside of a FoV of the user) or may correspondto different content items.

Referring back to FIG. 2B, the second server 206 b may identify/selectthe secondary content 210 b as represented by the arrow 226 b. Thesecond server 206 b may select the secondary content 210 b based atleast in part on an analysis of one or more of thefactors/parameters/conditions described above in connection with therequest 222 b and as described further below.

The second server 206 b may select the secondary content 210 b based atleast in part on an identification of (the one or more portions of) theprimary content 208 b identified/selected in conjunction with the arrow224 b. For example, and referring to FIG. 2B and FIG. 2D, in someembodiments the metadata 212 b associated with (an identified/selectedROI in) the primary content 208 b may be compared to a plurality oftags/metadata (e.g., metadata 210 d, 210 d-1, 210 d-2, etc.)respectively associated with a plurality of secondary content items(e.g., content items 210 b, 210 b-1, 210 b-2, etc.). The secondarycontent items 210 b, 210 b-1, 210 b-2, etc., may be stored in alibrary/database 200 d that may be accessible to the second server 206b.

In some embodiments, the database 200 d may correspond to the database200 c of FIG. 2C, which is to say that the databases 200 c and 200 d maybe a same/common database.

The secondary content item 210 b (potentially as opposed to thesecondary content items 210 b-1 and 210 b-2) may be selected by thesecond server 206 b based on the metadata 212 b more closely matchingthe metadata 210 d than the metadata 210 d-1 or the metadata 210 d-2.More generally, one or more secondary content items that may be selectedby the second server 206 b for distribution/transmission to the userequipment 202 b may be based on a distance/difference between themetadata 212 b and the respective metadata associated with a givensecondary content item being less than a threshold. In the embodimentsreflected by FIG. 2B and FIG. 2D, the distance/difference associatedwith the metadata 210 d may be less than the threshold, whereas therespective distances/differences associated with the metadata 210 d-1and the metadata 210 d-2 may be greater than the threshold.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the selected primary content 208 b may beprovided/transmitted to the user equipment 202 b as represented by thearrow 228 b-1. The selected secondary content 210 b may beprovided/transmitted to the user equipment 202 b as represented by thearrow 228 b-2.

While shown separately, the arrows 228 b-1 and 228 b-2 may be the samearrow, which is to say that the primary content 208 b and the secondarycontent 210 b may be provided to the user equipment 202 b as part of acommon transmission. In some embodiments, separate transmissions may beused to provide one or more portions of the primary content 208 b andone or more portions of the secondary content 210 b.

The arrows shown in FIG. 2B may establish a feedback loop between theuser equipment 202 b and the servers 204 b and 206 b. For example, asuser or user equipment inputs are generated, those inputs may betransmitted to, e.g., the first server 204 b as part of the request 222b. The inputs may be analyzed by the first server 204 b and/or thesecond server 206 b to select content (e.g., secondary content 210 b)that most closely aligns with perceived/inferred interests of the user.In this respect, a customized/tailored user experience may be obtainedin terms of a provisioning of content for user consumption/observation.

Aspects of the disclosure may provide for embedded secondary content inconnection with primary content. In some embodiments, the secondarycontent may include an advertisement, such as for example a personalizedvideo advertisement. The primary content may include a video, such asfor example an online streaming video.

There may be multiple parties/entities that may leverage the technologyof this disclosure. For example, in an advertising context there may be:(1) advertisers that want to promote a product or service via anadvertisement, (2) users that consume/observe (e.g., view or listen to)the advertisement, and/or (3) service providers/network operators thatselect the advertisement to provide to a given user or collection ofusers based on, e.g., preferences or interests. The advertisers maycompensate the service providers/network operators. In some embodiments,the compensation may be based on a number of selections of theadvertisement by users. In an online setting, the user selections of theadvertisement may be based on “clicks” of the advertisement on awebsite.

A goal of an advertiser may include having an advertisement reach usersthat have interests/preferences that are aligned with the substance ofthe advertisement. For example, a user interested in sports may beparticularly suited to receive an advertisement related to a sportinggoods store relative to, e.g., an advertisement related to ecologicalstudies. Conversely, a professor at a university may be bettersuited/positioned to receive an advertisement related to ecologicalstudies relative to a sports goods store.

Users may want to receive advertisements that align with their interestsor preferences. For example, such advertisements may appeal to the usersand encourage the users to obtain (e.g., purchase) products or servicesassociated with the advertisements. Conversely, if a first set ofadvertisements are not aligned with the interests/preferences of theusers, the users may tend to ignore a future second set ofadvertisements (even if the second set of advertisements is aligned withuser interests/preferences).

Service providers/network operators may want to improve the efficiency,scalability, and robustness of their resources (e.g., systems, devices,and/or components) and maximize their revenue or profits. Theeffectiveness of an advertising system can be measured by the clickthrough rate (CTR) for web-based systems and brand perception forvideo-based systems.

Aspects of the disclosure are tailored to satisfy theneeds/desires/objectives of advertisers, users, and serviceproviders/network operators alike. For example, FIG. 2E depicts anillustrative embodiment of a method 200 e in accordance with variousaspects described herein. The description provided below is based on themethod 200 e being executed in conjunction with the system 200 b of FIG.2B. For example, the method 200 e may be at least partially executed bythe user equipment 202 b of FIG. 2B. The method 200 e may be adapted soas to be executed by other types of systems or devices.

In block 202 e, a user equipment may obtain and/or present primarycontent (e.g., primary content 208 b of FIG. 2B). In some embodiments,the primary content may be obtained based on a push model, wherein theuser equipment obtains the primary content withoutspecifically/affirmatively requesting the primary content. For example,the primary content may be selected based on a profile of a userassociated with the user equipment, a date, a time, a user equipmentcapability, etc.

In some embodiments, the primary content may be selected based oninformation contained in a user's calendar/schedule. For example, if theuser's calendar indicates that the user is planning to take a trip tothe greater Washington, D.C. metro area, the primary content that isobtained as part of block 202 e may be related to potential points ofinterest in the area, such as for example museums, restaurants, sportsevents, concerts, tours of monuments, etc.

In block 202 e, the primary content may be obtained based on a pullmodel, wherein the user equipment requests (e.g., request 222 b of FIG.2B) the primary content from a server (e.g., first server 204 b of FIG.2B). The request for the primary content may take one or more forms. Forexample, the primary content may be requested by a user entering asearch term/phrase in an interface presented by the user equipment. Insome embodiments, the primary content may be selected from a menu ofavailable primary content items. The menu of available primary contentitems may be based on a subscription/service level in some embodiments,may be based on recommendations in accordance with a user profile, etc.

In block 202 e, the primary content may be presented on one or moreoutput devices. For example, the primary content may be presented on adisplay device, on headphones, on speakers, etc.

In block 204 e, a determination may be made whether the primary contentof block 202 e includes panoramic content. If it does (e.g., the “yes”path is taken from block 204 e), flow may proceed to block 208 e.Otherwise (e.g., the “no” path is taken from block 204 e), flow mayproceed to block 206 e.

In block 206 e, a gaze tracking technique may be applied to identify aregion of interest (ROI) in the primary content. As part of block 206 e,a timestamp associated with a playback of the primary content may beobtained.

In block 208 e, a viewing direction associated with the primary contentmay be obtained to identify a ROI in the primary content. Referring toFIG. 2A and FIG. 2F, the viewing direction may be based on adisplacement (e.g., an amount of rotation) of the FoV/observable area208 a relative to a reference marker/direction 202 f in a horizontalplane (e.g., in a plane corresponding to the X-Z plane in FIG. 2A).Referring to FIG. 2A, FIG. 2F, and FIG. 2G, the viewing direction may bebased on a displacement of the FoV/observerable area 208 a relative tothe horizontal plane in a vertical direction (e.g., along the Y-axis inFIG. 2A). As shown, the FoV/observable area 208 a may be bounded in thevertical direction by an upper bound 208 g-1 and a lower bound 208 g-2.

Referring back to FIG. 2E, as part of block 208 e, a timestampassociated with a playback of the primary content may be obtained. Aspart of block 208 e, a size of the FoV/observable area 208 a (see FIG.2A) may be obtained. As part of block 208 e, a central point of theFoV/observable area 208 a may be obtained; for example, and referring toFIG. 2F and FIG. 2G, the central point of the FoV/observable area 208 amay be located at a point coinciding with the X's shown at locations 208f and 208 g.

An identification of the central point of the FoV/observable area 208 amay be used to determine whether a user is focused on a particularobject that is present in the FoV. For example, if an object is locatedat or proximate the central point that may serve as a better indicationthat the user is interested in the object than if the object is locatedat a greater distance from the central point. In this respect, adistance from the central point to the object may be determined in someembodiments.

Blocks 206 e and 208 e described above are illustrative examples oftechniques that may be used to obtain information to identify one ormore ROIs in the primary content. For example, the techniques describedabove in connection with blocks 206 e and 208 e are passive in nature,in the sense that the ROI is identified without intrudingon/interrupting the user's consumption/observation of the primarycontent.

In some embodiments, active/affirmative techniques may be applied todetermine/identify a ROI. For example, a user may be presented a poll, asurvey, a questionnaire, or the like that requests the user toaffirmatively identify a ROI in the primary content. In someembodiments, the user may speak into a microphone of the user equipment,where the user's speech may be interpreted by the user equipment usingone or more speech interpretation algorithms as identifying a ROI.

In block 210 e the identified/selected ROI may be transmitted by theuser equipment to a server (e.g., server 204 b of FIG. 2B) or anotherdevice for analysis. Such an analysis is described below in connectionwith FIG. 2H.

The reporting/transmission of the ROI in block 210 e may occur for everyframe/segment of the primary content, or at some other specifiedfrequency or point in time (which may be based on one or more events).In some embodiments, the transmission of the ROI in block 210 e may bebased on network congestion. For example, during periods of elevatednetwork congestion (e.g., network congestion exceeding a threshold), thetransmission of the ROI in block 210 e may occur less frequently thanduring periods of moderate or negligible network congestion.

In some embodiments, a central point and/or a size of the ROI may betransmitted by the user equipment to the server as part of block 210 e(potentially as opposed to an indication of content associated with theROI). Assuming that the server has a copy of the content, the server maybe able to determine what content is included in the ROI when providedwith the central point and the size of the ROI.

Based on the analysis referred to above in connection with block 210e/FIG. 2H, in block 212 e the user equipment may receive secondarycontent (e.g., secondary content 210 b of FIG. 2B). The secondarycontent of block 212 e may include an advertisement. The secondarycontent of block 212 e may include an email, a text message, a phonecall, a voicemessage, an image, a video, an audio track (e.g., music),etc.

The secondary content may be presented at the user equipment as part ofblock 212 e. For example, the secondary content received in block 212 emay be presented simultaneously or in conjunction with a presentation ofthe primary content (see block 202 e). Alternatively, the secondarycontent received in block 212 e may be presented at a different time(e.g., a later time) than the presentation of the primary content inorder to avoid distracting the user from consuming/observing the primarycontent.

In some embodiments, a user or user equipment may be provided an optionwhether to receive the secondary content of block 212 e. In someembodiments, receipt of the secondary content in block 212 e may beoptional in the sense that if candidate secondary content items that areavailable to, e.g., a network operator or service provider are not aclose enough match to the primary content being obtained or presented bythe user equipment, the network operator/service provider may elect notto provide the user equipment with any secondary content.

From block 212 e, flow may proceed to block 202 e to continue receivingprimary content as appropriate/needed. In this respect, a loop may beestablished between the blocks of the method 200 e, wherenew/additional/modified ROIs may be identified in order to obtainnew/additional/modified secondary content at the user equipment as,e.g., a playback/presentation of the primary content progresses.

FIG. 2H depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method 200 h inaccordance with various aspects described herein. The descriptionprovided below is based on the method 200 h being executed inconjunction with the system 200 b of FIG. 2B. For example, the method200 h may be at least partially executed by the server 204 b and/or theserver 206 b of FIG. 2B. The method 200 h may be adapted so as to beexecuted by other types of systems or devices.

In block 202 h, primary content may be transmitted to, e.g., a userequipment (cross-reference the description provided above in connectionwith block 202 e of FIG. 2E: user equipment obtains/presents primarycontent). The primary content may be transmitted based on a push modelor a pull model as described above. The primary content may be providedto the user equipment in connection with a broadcast transmission, amulticast transmission, or a unicast transmission. The primary contentmay be based on one or more factors/conditions described above, such asfor example a user equipment capability, a user/user equipment profile,a schedule, a date, a time, terms of a user/user equipmentsubscription/service agreement, etc.

To the extent that the primary content is not already available to thedevice(s) executing the method 200 h, block 202 h may include obtainingthe primary content.

In block 204 h, one or more ROIs associated with the primary contenttransmitted in block 202 h may be obtained (cross-reference thedescription provided above in connection with block 210 e of FIG. 2E:user equipment transmits identified ROI). For example, block 204 h mayinclude receiving the ROIs from a user equipment (or another device).

In block 206 h, keywords may be identified/obtained based on the ROIs ofblock 204 h. The keywords may be included as part of metadata associatedwith/mapped to the ROIs. For example, and referring to FIG. 2B, thekeywords may be based on/included in the metadata 212 b. The keywordsmay be based on object classification algorithms or (automated)description generation algorithms for images to create keywords for thecorresponding primary content/ROIs of blocks 202 h and 204 h.

The creation/generation of keywords, and the application of thosekeywords to content (e.g., primary content), may be performed by one ormore parties or entities. For example, keywords may be created orapplied to content by a content creator/generator, a contentdistributor, etc.

The creation/generation of keywords, or the application of the keywordsto content, may be performed by one or more devices. For example, aserver may create the keywords or apply the keywords to the content. Insome embodiments, a user equipment may include one or more algorithms,such as for example one or more of the algorithms referred to above, tocreate/generate keywords or apply the keywords to the content. In thisrespect, one or more devices may provide/supply the metadata 212 b(e.g., the keywords) associated with the primary content.

In block 208 h, the metadata (e.g., keywords) of block 206 h may becompared to metadata (e.g., keywords) associated with secondary contentitems (see FIG. 2D: metadata 210 d, 210 d-1, and 210 d-2 associated withsecondary content items 210 b, 210 b-1, and 210 b-2, respectively);cross-reference the description above in connection with block 210 e ofFIG. 2E regarding an analysis of the ROI transmitted by the userequipment. In some embodiments, the analysis/comparison of block 208 hmay include application of a first, coarse-grained filter toidentify/output secondary content that is closely related to the ROI.Thereafter, a second, fine-grained filter may be applied based onsecondary considerations (e.g., a user profile [which may include asocial media profile, a log/history of media/content consumed, usercredit/financial information, etc.], location information, scheduleinformation, a date, a time, a capability of a user equipment, etc.) toidentify one or more secondary content items output by the first,coarse-grained filter that is/are likely of interest to the user.

An analysis/comparison/filtration that may be performed in block 208 hmay be based on a weighting of the different inputs that arereceived/obtained. For example, the comparison of metadata/keywords inconjunction with an ROI may receive, e.g., 30% of a total weighting, andthe secondary considerations described above may collectively receive70% of the total weighting. The particular values for the weightings ina given embodiment may be based on one or more application settings orrequirements.

As described above, an analysis/comparison/filtration of metadata (e.g.,keywords) associated with a ROI/primary content and metadata (e.g.,keywords) associated with secondary content may incorporate aspects ofreducing (e g, minimizing) a (vector) distance/difference between themetadata. As part of block 208 h, secondary content that has a shortestdistance, or a distance that is less that a threshold, may beidentified/selected.

In some embodiments, the analysis of block 208 h may include aspects ofcollaborative filtering. Collaborative filtering may incorporate aspectsof automatic predictions (filtering) about the interests of a user bycollecting preferences or taste information from many users(collaborating). Collaborative filtering may be based on an assumptionthat if a first person has the same opinion as a second person on afirst issue, the first person is more likely to have the same opinion asthe second person on a different, second issue, compared to the opinionof another randomly chosen person. For example, when using collaborativefiltering, a recommendation system for media/content could makepredictions about which content a user would like, given that user'sprofile (either likes or dislikes of some content she observedpreviously).

In block 210 h, secondary content may be identified/selected fortransmission to the user equipment based on the analysis of block 208 h.As part of block 210 h, the secondary content may be obtained (e.g.,fetched) if it is not already present/available at, e.g., the server(s)performing the method 200 h.

In block 212 h, the secondary content identified/selected in block 210 hmay be transmitted to, e.g., the user equipment. In some embodiments,the secondary content that is transmitted may include, or haveassociated therewith, a tag that when received by the user equipmentpresents an alert or notification at the user equipment that secondarycontent has been received. For example, such an alert/notification maytake the form of a chime/ding/ring sound, an icon displayed proximate oroverlaid upon the primary content, an email or text message, etc.

In some embodiments, block 212 h may include receiving an indicationthat the secondary content item is selected at, e.g., the userequipment. Receipt of such an indication may be consistent with the CTRscheme/technique described above.

In some embodiments, block 212 h may be optional in the sense that block212 h might only be executed if the analysis of block 208 h identifiessecondary content that is believed to be of interest to the user. Inthis respect, the user might only be presented with secondary contentthat is of interest to the user.

From block 212 h, flow may proceed to block 202 h to continuetransmitting primary content as appropriate/needed. In this respect, aloop may be established between the blocks of the method 200 h, wherenew/additional/modified ROIs (or other inputs, such as for example thesecondary considerations described above in connection with block 208 h)may be identified/obtained in order to provide new/additional/modifiedsecondary content to the user equipment as, e.g., aplayback/presentation of the primary content progresses at the userequipment.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the respectiveprocesses 200 e and 200 h are shown and described as a series of blocksin FIG. 2E and FIG. 2H, respectively, it is to be understood andappreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the orderof the blocks, as some blocks may occur in different orders and/orconcurrently with other blocks from what is depicted and describedherein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be required toimplement the methods described herein. Some of the blocks may beoptional. Aspects of the methods 200 e and 200 h may be combined withone another in some embodiments.

Aspects of the disclosure may be used to provide supplemental/secondarycontent/content items to a user or user equipment that is receivingand/or presenting first/primary content/content items. Such secondarycontent may include advertisements associated with an object included inthe primary content.

Aspects of the disclosure may facilitate and provide for a delivery ofsecondary content in relation to primary content. Such secondary contentmay include video advertisements. Aspects of the disclosure may bedirected to a delivery of any other type of secondary content, such asfor example display advertisements, social media advertisements, emailadvertisement, search engine marketing, etc.

In some embodiments, secondary content that is provided to a userequipment may include audio and/or pop-up text cues that can alert auser to events, objects, scenes, etc., that are outside of a currentFoV. For example, if an event is happening (or is going to happen atsome point in the future), the user can be directed to navigate in aparticular direction and/or at a particular speed to arrive at the eventat an appropriate time in a playback of the (primary or secondary)content. In this respect, the viewgraphs shown in FIG. 2F and FIG. 2Gmay be overlaid or presented in conjunction with the primary orsecondary content to provide the user with a sense of orientationrelative to the content. In this respect, the user may avoid a feelingof apprehension or nervousness due to not being “lost” in terms of aplayback of the content.

Aspects of the disclosure may provide for security/privacy in terms ofuser information. For example, in conjunction with a server-proxyarchitecture, a server may execute one or more secondary contentselection algorithms to identify/select a secondary content item todeliver/transmit to a user equipment and a proxy may handle theaggregation and anonymization of sensitive or privacy-relatedinformation.

Aspects of the disclosure may be applied in terms of an interactiveeducation application/environment. For example, a user that is observinga panoramic video directed to a virtual museum, a botanical garden,etc., may have customized audio tracks, text boxes, images/pictures,videos, etc., playback/pop-up as the user looks in a direction ofvarious objects.

Aspects of the disclosure may include identifying a region of interest(ROI) included in a portion of content. The ROI may include anidentification/specification of an object or a scene in the content. TheROI may be based on tags/metadata associated with the content. Forexample, the metadata may include a timestamp associated with aframe/segment of the content that is being presented on a userequipment, orientation information (e.g., a viewing direction)associated with the user equipment and/or a field of view (FoV) relativeto a reference orientation, a size of the field of view, a distance froma central point of the field of view to, e.g., an object in the FoV,gaze information, etc.

While some of the example embodiments described herein relate topanoramic content, aspects of the disclosure may be applied inconnection with content of any type or format. Panoramic content caninclude 360-degree content, or less than 360-degree content. Referringnow to FIG. 3, a block diagram 300 is shown illustrating an example,non-limiting embodiment of a virtualized communication network inaccordance with various aspects described herein. In particular avirtualized communication network is presented that can be used toimplement some or all of the subsystems and functions of thecommunication network 100, the subsystems and functions of the systemsor devices 200 a, 200 b, 200 c, and 200 d, and the methods 200 e and 200h presented in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2A-2H. For example,virtualized communication network 300 can facilitate in whole or in parta selection, delivery, and presentation of primary content, anidentification of a ROI included in the primary content, anidentification/selection of secondary content related to the ROI(potentially based on one or more secondary considerations/inputs), anda transmission of the secondary content to a user equipment for receiptand presentation by the user equipment.

In particular, a cloud networking architecture is shown that leveragescloud technologies and supports rapid innovation and scalability via atransport layer 350, a virtualized network function cloud 325 and/or oneor more cloud computing environments 375. In various embodiments, thiscloud networking architecture is an open architecture that leveragesapplication programming interfaces (APIs); reduces complexity fromservices and operations; supports more nimble business models; andrapidly and seamlessly scales to meet evolving customer requirementsincluding traffic growth, diversity of traffic types, and diversity ofperformance and reliability expectations.

In contrast to traditional network elements—which are typicallyintegrated to perform a single function, the virtualized communicationnetwork employs virtual network elements (VNEs) 330, 332, 334, etc. thatperform some or all of the functions of network elements 150, 152, 154,156, etc. For example, the network architecture can provide a substrateof networking capability, often called Network Function VirtualizationInfrastructure (NFVI) or simply infrastructure that is capable of beingdirected with software and Software Defined Networking (SDN) protocolsto perform a broad variety of network functions and services. Thisinfrastructure can include several types of substrates. The most typicaltype of substrate being servers that support Network FunctionVirtualization (NFV), followed by packet forwarding capabilities basedon generic computing resources, with specialized network technologiesbrought to bear when general purpose processors or general purposeintegrated circuit devices offered by merchants (referred to herein asmerchant silicon) are not appropriate. In this case, communicationservices can be implemented as cloud-centric workloads.

As an example, a traditional network element 150 (shown in FIG. 1), suchas an edge router can be implemented via a VNE 330 composed of NFVsoftware modules, merchant silicon, and associated controllers. Thesoftware can be written so that increasing workload consumes incrementalresources from a common resource pool, and moreover so that it'selastic: so the resources are only consumed when needed. In a similarfashion, other network elements such as other routers, switches, edgecaches, and middle-boxes are instantiated from the common resource pool.Such sharing of infrastructure across a broad set of uses makes planningand growing infrastructure easier to manage.

In an embodiment, the transport layer 350 includes fiber, cable, wiredand/or wireless transport elements, network elements and interfaces toprovide broadband access 110, wireless access 120, voice access 130,media access 140 and/or access to content sources 175 for distributionof content to any or all of the access technologies. In particular, insome cases a network element needs to be positioned at a specific place,and this allows for less sharing of common infrastructure. Other times,the network elements have specific physical layer adapters that cannotbe abstracted or virtualized, and might require special DSP code andanalog front-ends (AFEs) that do not lend themselves to implementationas VNEs 330, 332 or 334. These network elements can be included intransport layer 350.

The virtualized network function cloud 325 interfaces with the transportlayer 350 to provide the VNEs 330, 332, 334, etc. to provide specificNFVs. In particular, the virtualized network function cloud 325leverages cloud operations, applications, and architectures to supportnetworking workloads. The virtualized network elements 330, 332 and 334can employ network function software that provides either a one-for-onemapping of traditional network element function or alternately somecombination of network functions designed for cloud computing. Forexample, VNEs 330, 332 and 334 can include route reflectors, domain namesystem (DNS) servers, and dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP)servers, system architecture evolution (SAE) and/or mobility managemententity (MME) gateways, broadband network gateways, IP edge routers forIP-VPN, Ethernet and other services, load balancers, distributers andother network elements. Because these elements don't typically need toforward large amounts of traffic, their workload can be distributedacross a number of servers—each of which adds a portion of thecapability, and overall which creates an elastic function with higheravailability than its former monolithic version. These virtual networkelements 330, 332, 334, etc. can be instantiated and managed using anorchestration approach similar to those used in cloud compute services.

The cloud computing environments 375 can interface with the virtualizednetwork function cloud 325 via APIs that expose functional capabilitiesof the VNEs 330, 332, 334, etc. to provide the flexible and expandedcapabilities to the virtualized network function cloud 325. Inparticular, network workloads may have applications distributed acrossthe virtualized network function cloud 325 and cloud computingenvironment 375 and in the commercial cloud, or might simply orchestrateworkloads supported entirely in NFV infrastructure from these thirdparty locations.

Turning now to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a block diagram of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein. In order to provide additional context for various embodimentsof the embodiments described herein, FIG. 4 and the following discussionare intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitablecomputing environment 400 in which the various embodiments of thesubject disclosure can be implemented. In particular, computingenvironment 400 can be used in the implementation of network elements150, 152, 154, 156, access terminal 112, base station or access point122, switching device 132, media terminal 142, and/or VNEs 330, 332,334, etc. Each of these devices can be implemented viacomputer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers,and/or in combination with other program modules and/or as a combinationof hardware and software. For example, computing environment 400 canfacilitate in whole or in part a selection, delivery, and presentationof primary content, an identification of a ROI included in the primarycontent, an identification/selection of secondary content related to theROI (potentially based on one or more secondary considerations/inputs),and a transmission of the secondary content to a user equipment forreceipt and presentation by the user equipment.

Generally, program modules comprise routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, comprising single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

As used herein, a processing circuit includes one or more processors aswell as other application specific circuits such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit, digital logic circuit, state machine,programmable gate array or other circuit that processes input signals ordata and that produces output signals or data in response thereto. Itshould be noted that while any functions and features described hereinin association with the operation of a processor could likewise beperformed by a processing circuit.

The illustrated embodiments of the embodiments herein can be alsopracticed in distributed computing environments where certain tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Computing devices typically comprise a variety of media, which cancomprise computer-readable storage media and/or communications media,which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and comprises both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured dataor unstructured data.

Computer-readable storage media can comprise, but are not limited to,random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or othermemory technology, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devicesor other tangible and/or non-transitory media which can be used to storedesired information. In this regard, the terms “tangible” or“non-transitory” herein as applied to storage, memory orcomputer-readable media, are to be understood to exclude onlypropagating transitory signals per se as modifiers and do not relinquishrights to all standard storage, memory or computer-readable media thatare not only propagating transitory signals per se.

Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local orremote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or otherdata retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect tothe information stored by the medium.

Communications media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructureddata in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and comprises any informationdelivery or transport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signalsrefers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set orchanged in such a manner as to encode information in one or moresignals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication mediacomprise wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media.

With reference again to FIG. 4, the example environment can comprise acomputer 402, the computer 402 comprising a processing unit 404, asystem memory 406 and a system bus 408. The system bus 408 couplessystem components including, but not limited to, the system memory 406to the processing unit 404. The processing unit 404 can be any ofvarious commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors andother multiprocessor architectures can also be employed as theprocessing unit 404.

The system bus 408 can be any of several types of bus structure that canfurther interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 406comprises ROM 410 and RAM 412. A basic input/output system (BIOS) can bestored in a non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM), EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines thathelp to transfer information between elements within the computer 402,such as during startup. The RAM 412 can also comprise a high-speed RAMsuch as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 402 further comprises an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 414(e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal HDD 414 can also be configured forexternal use in a suitable chassis (not shown), a magnetic floppy diskdrive (FDD) 416, (e.g., to read from or write to a removable diskette418) and an optical disk drive 420, (e.g., reading a CD-ROM disk 422 or,to read from or write to other high capacity optical media such as theDVD). The HDD 414, magnetic FDD 416 and optical disk drive 420 can beconnected to the system bus 408 by a hard disk drive interface 424, amagnetic disk drive interface 426 and an optical drive interface 428,respectively. The hard disk drive interface 424 for external driveimplementations comprises at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus(USB) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394interface technologies. Other external drive connection technologies arewithin contemplation of the embodiments described herein.

The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 402, the drives and storagemedia accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format.Although the description of computer-readable storage media above refersto a hard disk drive (HDD), a removable magnetic diskette, and aremovable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that other types of storage media which arereadable by a computer, such as zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flashmemory cards, cartridges, and the like, can also be used in the exampleoperating environment, and further, that any such storage media cancontain computer-executable instructions for performing the methodsdescribed herein.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 412,comprising an operating system 430, one or more application programs432, other program modules 434 and program data 436. All or portions ofthe operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 412. The systems and methods described herein can beimplemented utilizing various commercially available operating systemsor combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 402 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 438 and apointing device, such as a mouse 440. Other input devices (not shown)can comprise a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a joystick,a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen or the like. These and otherinput devices are often connected to the processing unit 404 through aninput device interface 442 that can be coupled to the system bus 408,but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, anIEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a universal serial bus (USB) port,an IR interface, etc.

A monitor 444 or other type of display device can be also connected tothe system bus 408 via an interface, such as a video adapter 446. Itwill also be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, a monitor 444can also be any display device (e.g., another computer having a display,a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc.) for receiving displayinformation associated with computer 402 via any communication means,including via the Internet and cloud-based networks. In addition to themonitor 444, a computer typically comprises other peripheral outputdevices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 402 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 448. The remotecomputer(s) 448 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentappliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallycomprises many or all of the elements described relative to the computer402, although, for purposes of brevity, only a remote memory/storagedevice 450 is illustrated. The logical connections depicted comprisewired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 452 and/orlarger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 454. Such LAN and WANnetworking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, andfacilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all ofwhich can connect to a global communications network, e.g., theInternet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 402 can beconnected to the LAN 452 through a wired and/or wireless communicationnetwork interface or adapter 456. The adapter 456 can facilitate wiredor wireless communication to the LAN 452, which can also comprise awireless AP disposed thereon for communicating with the adapter 456.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 402 can comprisea modem 458 or can be connected to a communications server on the WAN454 or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN 454,such as by way of the Internet. The modem 458, which can be internal orexternal and a wired or wireless device, can be connected to the systembus 408 via the input device interface 442. In a networked environment,program modules depicted relative to the computer 402 or portionsthereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device 450. It willbe appreciated that the network connections shown are example and othermeans of establishing a communications link between the computers can beused.

The computer 402 can be operable to communicate with any wirelessdevices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication,e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portabledata assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment orlocation associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk,news stand, restroom), and telephone. This can comprise WirelessFidelity (Wi-Fi) and BLUETOOTH® wireless technologies. Thus, thecommunication can be a predefined structure as with a conventionalnetwork or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi can allow connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bedin a hotel room or a conference room at work, without wires. Wi-Fi is awireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enablessuch devices, e.g., computers, to send and receive data indoors and out;anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use radiotechnologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, n, ac, ag, etc.) to providesecure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can beused to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wirednetworks (which can use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operatein the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands for example or with productsthat contain both bands (dual band), so the networks can providereal-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernetnetworks used in many offices.

Turning now to FIG. 5, an embodiment 500 of a mobile network platform510 is shown that is an example of network elements 150, 152, 154, 156,and/or VNEs 330, 332, 334, etc. For example, platform 510 can facilitatein whole or in part a selection, delivery, and presentation of primarycontent, an identification of a ROI included in the primary content, anidentification/selection of secondary content related to the ROI(potentially based on one or more secondary considerations/inputs), anda transmission of the secondary content to a user equipment for receiptand presentation by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, themobile network platform 510 can generate and receive signals transmittedand received by base stations or access points such as base station oraccess point 122. Generally, mobile network platform 510 can comprisecomponents, e.g., nodes, gateways, interfaces, servers, or disparateplatforms, that facilitate both packet-switched (PS) (e.g., internetprotocol (IP), frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)) andcircuit-switched (CS) traffic (e.g., voice and data), as well as controlgeneration for networked wireless telecommunication. As a non-limitingexample, mobile network platform 510 can be included intelecommunications carrier networks, and can be considered carrier-sidecomponents as discussed elsewhere herein. Mobile network platform 510comprises CS gateway node(s) 512 which can interface CS traffic receivedfrom legacy networks like telephony network(s) 540 (e.g., publicswitched telephone network (PSTN), or public land mobile network (PLMN))or a signaling system #7 (SS7) network 560. CS gateway node(s) 512 canauthorize and authenticate traffic (e.g., voice) arising from suchnetworks. Additionally, CS gateway node(s) 512 can access mobility, orroaming, data generated through SS7 network 560; for instance, mobilitydata stored in a visited location register (VLR), which can reside inmemory 530. Moreover, CS gateway node(s) 512 interfaces CS-based trafficand signaling and PS gateway node(s) 518. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTSnetwork, CS gateway node(s) 512 can be realized at least in part ingateway GPRS support node(s) (GGSN). It should be appreciated thatfunctionality and specific operation of CS gateway node(s) 512, PSgateway node(s) 518, and serving node(s) 516, is provided and dictatedby radio technology(ies) utilized by mobile network platform 510 fortelecommunication over a radio access network 520 with other devices,such as a radiotelephone 575.

In addition to receiving and processing CS-switched traffic andsignaling, PS gateway node(s) 518 can authorize and authenticatePS-based data sessions with served mobile devices. Data sessions cancomprise traffic, or content(s), exchanged with networks external to themobile network platform 510, like wide area network(s) (WANs) 550,enterprise network(s) 570, and service network(s) 580, which can beembodied in local area network(s) (LANs), can also be interfaced withmobile network platform 510 through PS gateway node(s) 518. It is to benoted that WANs 550 and enterprise network(s) 570 can embody, at leastin part, a service network(s) like IP multimedia subsystem (IMS). Basedon radio technology layer(s) available in technology resource(s) orradio access network 520, PS gateway node(s) 518 can generate packetdata protocol contexts when a data session is established; other datastructures that facilitate routing of packetized data also can begenerated. To that end, in an aspect, PS gateway node(s) 518 cancomprise a tunnel interface (e.g., tunnel termination gateway (TTG) in3GPP UMTS network(s) (not shown)) which can facilitate packetizedcommunication with disparate wireless network(s), such as Wi-Finetworks.

In embodiment 500, mobile network platform 510 also comprises servingnode(s) 516 that, based upon available radio technology layer(s) withintechnology resource(s) in the radio access network 520, convey thevarious packetized flows of data streams received through PS gatewaynode(s) 518. It is to be noted that for technology resource(s) that relyprimarily on CS communication, server node(s) can deliver trafficwithout reliance on PS gateway node(s) 518; for example, server node(s)can embody at least in part a mobile switching center. As an example, ina 3GPP UMTS network, serving node(s) 516 can be embodied in serving GPRSsupport node(s) (SGSN).

For radio technologies that exploit packetized communication, server(s)514 in mobile network platform 510 can execute numerous applicationsthat can generate multiple disparate packetized data streams or flows,and manage (e.g., schedule, queue, format . . . ) such flows. Suchapplication(s) can comprise add-on features to standard services (forexample, provisioning, billing, customer support . . . ) provided bymobile network platform 510. Data streams (e.g., content(s) that arepart of a voice call or data session) can be conveyed to PS gatewaynode(s) 518 for authorization/authentication and initiation of a datasession, and to serving node(s) 516 for communication thereafter. Inaddition to application server, server(s) 514 can comprise utilityserver(s), a utility server can comprise a provisioning server, anoperations and maintenance server, a security server that can implementat least in part a certificate authority and firewalls as well as othersecurity mechanisms, and the like. In an aspect, security server(s)secure communication served through mobile network platform 510 toensure network's operation and data integrity in addition toauthorization and authentication procedures that CS gateway node(s) 512and PS gateway node(s) 518 can enact. Moreover, provisioning server(s)can provision services from external network(s) like networks operatedby a disparate service provider; for instance, WAN 550 or GlobalPositioning System (GPS) network(s) (not shown). Provisioning server(s)can also provision coverage through networks associated to mobilenetwork platform 510 (e.g., deployed and operated by the same serviceprovider), such as the distributed antennas networks shown in FIG. 1that enhance wireless service coverage by providing more networkcoverage.

It is to be noted that server(s) 514 can comprise one or more processorsconfigured to confer at least in part the functionality of mobilenetwork platform 510. To that end, the one or more processor can executecode instructions stored in memory 530, for example. It is should beappreciated that server(s) 514 can comprise a content manager, whichoperates in substantially the same manner as described hereinbefore.

In example embodiment 500, memory 530 can store information related tooperation of mobile network platform 510. Other operational informationcan comprise provisioning information of mobile devices served throughmobile network platform 510, subscriber databases; applicationintelligence, pricing schemes, e.g., promotional rates, flat-rateprograms, couponing campaigns; technical specification(s) consistentwith telecommunication protocols for operation of disparate radio, orwireless, technology layers; and so forth. Memory 530 can also storeinformation from at least one of telephony network(s) 540, WAN 550, SS7network 560, or enterprise network(s) 570. In an aspect, memory 530 canbe, for example, accessed as part of a data store component or as aremotely connected memory store.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosedsubject matter, FIG. 5, and the following discussion, are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable environment in whichthe various aspects of the disclosed subject matter can be implemented.While the subject matter has been described above in the general contextof computer-executable instructions of a computer program that runs on acomputer and/or computers, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe disclosed subject matter also can be implemented in combination withother program modules. Generally, program modules comprise routines,programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particulartasks and/or implement particular abstract data types.

Turning now to FIG. 6, an illustrative embodiment of a communicationdevice 600 is shown. The communication device 600 can serve as anillustrative embodiment of devices such as data terminals 114, mobiledevices 124, vehicle 126, display devices 144 or other client devicesfor communication via either communications network 125. For example,computing device 600 can facilitate in whole or in part a selection,delivery, and presentation of primary content, an identification of aROI included in the primary content, an identification/selection ofsecondary content related to the ROI (potentially based on one or moresecondary considerations/inputs), and a transmission of the secondarycontent to a user equipment for receipt and presentation by the userequipment.

The communication device 600 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 602 (herein transceiver 602), a user interface (UI) 604, apower supply 614, a location receiver 616, a motion sensor 618, anorientation sensor 620, and a controller 606 for managing operationsthereof. The transceiver 602 can support short-range or long-rangewireless access technologies such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi, DECT, orcellular communication technologies, just to mention a few (Bluetooth®and ZigBee® are trademarks registered by the Bluetooth® Special InterestGroup and the ZigBee® Alliance, respectively). Cellular technologies caninclude, for example, CDMA-1×, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO,WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 602 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCP/IP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 604 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 608 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device600. The keypad 608 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 600 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth®. The keypad 608 canrepresent a numeric keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a QWERTYkeypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 604 can further include a display610 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technology forconveying images to an end user of the communication device 600. In anembodiment where the display 610 is touch-sensitive, a portion or all ofthe keypad 608 can be presented by way of the display 610 withnavigation features.

The display 610 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a userinterface for detecting user input. As a touch screen display, thecommunication device 600 can be adapted to present a user interfacehaving graphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by auser with a touch of a finger. The display 610 can be equipped withcapacitive, resistive or other forms of sensing technology to detect howmuch surface area of a user's finger has been placed on a portion of thetouch screen display. This sensing information can be used to controlthe manipulation of the GUI elements or other functions of the userinterface. The display 610 can be an integral part of the housingassembly of the communication device 600 or an independent devicecommunicatively coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface (suchas a cable) or a wireless interface.

The UI 604 can also include an audio system 612 that utilizes audiotechnology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heard inproximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such as speakerphonefor hands free operation). The audio system 612 can further include amicrophone for receiving audible signals of an end user. The audiosystem 612 can also be used for voice recognition applications. The UI604 can further include an image sensor 613 such as a charged coupleddevice (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 614 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and/or charging system technologies for supplying energyto the components of the communication device 600 to facilitatelong-range or short-range portable communications. Alternatively, or incombination, the charging system can utilize external power sources suchas DC power supplied over a physical interface such as a USB port orother suitable tethering technologies.

The location receiver 616 can utilize location technology such as aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS foridentifying a location of the communication device 600 based on signalsgenerated by a constellation of GPS satellites, which can be used forfacilitating location services such as navigation. The motion sensor 618can utilize motion sensing technology such as an accelerometer, agyroscope, or other suitable motion sensing technology to detect motionof the communication device 600 in three-dimensional space. Theorientation sensor 620 can utilize orientation sensing technology suchas a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the communication device600 (north, south, west, and east, as well as combined orientations indegrees, minutes, or other suitable orientation metrics).

The communication device 600 can use the transceiver 602 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth®, or other wirelessaccess points by sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or signal time of arrival (TOA) or time offlight (TOF) measurements. The controller 606 can utilize computingtechnologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP),programmable gate arrays, application specific integrated circuits,and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such as Flash,ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies for executingcomputer instructions, controlling, and processing data supplied by theaforementioned components of the communication device 600.

Other components not shown in FIG. 6 can be used in one or moreembodiments of the subject disclosure. For instance, the communicationdevice 600 can include a slot for adding or removing an identity modulesuch as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card or Universal IntegratedCircuit Card (UICC). SIM or UICC cards can be used for identifyingsubscriber services, executing programs, storing subscriber data, and soon.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and so forth, as used in theclaims, unless otherwise clear by context, is for clarity only anddoesn't otherwise indicate or imply any order in time. For instance, “afirst determination,” “a second determination,” and “a thirddetermination,” does not indicate or imply that the first determinationis to be made before the second determination, or vice versa, etc.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “storage,” “datastore,” data storage,” “database,” and substantially any otherinformation storage component relevant to operation and functionality ofa component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a“memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciatedthat the memory components described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory, or can comprise both volatile andnonvolatile memory, by way of illustration, and not limitation, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, disk storage, and memory storage. Further,nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory (ROM),programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory cancomprise random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cachememory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available inmany forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhancedSDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM).Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methodsherein are intended to comprise, without being limited to comprising,these and any other suitable types of memory.

Moreover, it will be noted that the disclosed subject matter can bepracticed with other computer system configurations, comprisingsingle-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, mini-computingdevices, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-heldcomputing devices (e.g., PDA, phone, smartphone, watch, tabletcomputers, netbook computers, etc.), microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer or industrial electronics, and the like. Theillustrated aspects can also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network; however, some if not allaspects of the subject disclosure can be practiced on stand-alonecomputers. In a distributed computing environment, program modules canbe located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

In one or more embodiments, information regarding use of services can begenerated including services being accessed, media consumption history,user preferences, and so forth. This information can be obtained byvarious methods including user input, detecting types of communications(e.g., video content vs. audio content), analysis of content streams,sampling, and so forth. The generating, obtaining and/or monitoring ofthis information can be responsive to an authorization provided by theuser. In one or more embodiments, an analysis of data can be subject toauthorization from user(s) associated with the data, such as an opt-in,an opt-out, acknowledgement requirements, notifications, selectiveauthorization based on types of data, and so forth.

Some of the embodiments described herein can also employ artificialintelligence (AI) to facilitate automating one or more featuresdescribed herein. The embodiments (e.g., in connection withautomatically identifying acquired cell sites that provide a maximumvalue/benefit after addition to an existing communication network) canemploy various AI-based schemes for carrying out various embodimentsthereof. Moreover, the classifier can be employed to determine a rankingor priority of each cell site of the acquired network. A classifier is afunction that maps an input attribute vector, x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, . . . ,xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, that is,f(x)=confidence (class). Such classification can employ a probabilisticand/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into the analysisutilities and costs) to determine or infer an action that a user desiresto be automatically performed. A support vector machine (SVM) is anexample of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates byfinding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs, which thehypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from thenon-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classificationcorrect for testing data that is near, but not identical to trainingdata. Other directed and undirected model classification approachescomprise, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neuralnetworks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification modelsproviding different patterns of independence can be employed.Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statisticalregression that is utilized to develop models of priority.

As will be readily appreciated, one or more of the embodiments canemploy classifiers that are explicitly trained (e.g., via a generictraining data) as well as implicitly trained (e.g., via observing UEbehavior, operator preferences, historical information, receivingextrinsic information). For example, SVMs can be configured via alearning or training phase within a classifier constructor and featureselection module. Thus, the classifier(s) can be used to automaticallylearn and perform a number of functions, including but not limited todetermining according to predetermined criteria which of the acquiredcell sites will benefit a maximum number of subscribers and/or which ofthe acquired cell sites will add minimum value to the existingcommunication network coverage, etc.

As used in some contexts in this application, in some embodiments, theterms “component,” “system” and the like are intended to refer to, orcomprise, a computer-related entity or an entity related to anoperational apparatus with one or more specific functionalities, whereinthe entity can be either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. As an example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution,computer-executable instructions, a program, and/or a computer. By wayof illustration and not limitation, both an application running on aserver and the server can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. In addition, these components can execute from variouscomputer readable media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry, which is operated by asoftware or firmware application executed by a processor, wherein theprocessor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes atleast a part of the software or firmware application. As yet anotherexample, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can comprise a processor therein to executesoftware or firmware that confers at least in part the functionality ofthe electronic components. While various components have beenillustrated as separate components, it will be appreciated that multiplecomponents can be implemented as a single component, or a singlecomponent can be implemented as multiple components, without departingfrom example embodiments.

Further, the various embodiments can be implemented as a method,apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device or computer-readable storage/communicationsmedia. For example, computer readable storage media can include, but arenot limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk,magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digitalversatile disk (DVD)), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g.,card, stick, key drive). Of course, those skilled in the art willrecognize many modifications can be made to this configuration withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

In addition, the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to meanserving as an instance or illustration. Any embodiment or designdescribed herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments ordesigns. Rather, use of the word example or exemplary is intended topresent concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, theterm “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive“or”. That is, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, “Xemploys A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusivepermutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both Aand B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoinginstances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in thisapplication and the appended claims should generally be construed tomean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context tobe directed to a singular form.

Moreover, terms such as “user equipment,” “mobile station,” “mobile,”subscriber station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,” “mobiledevice” (and/or terms representing similar terminology) can refer to awireless device utilized by a subscriber or user of a wirelesscommunication service to receive or convey data, control, voice, video,sound, gaming or substantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. Theforegoing terms are utilized interchangeably herein and with referenceto the related drawings.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer” andthe like are employed interchangeably throughout, unless contextwarrants particular distinctions among the terms. It should beappreciated that such terms can refer to human entities or automatedcomponents supported through artificial intelligence (e.g., a capacityto make inference based, at least, on complex mathematical formalisms),which can provide simulated vision, sound recognition and so forth.

As employed herein, the term “processor” can refer to substantially anycomputing processing unit or device comprising, but not limited tocomprising, single-core processors; single-processors with softwaremultithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-coreprocessors with software multithread execution capability; multi-coreprocessors with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; andparallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, aprocessor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), acomplex programmable logic device (CPLD), a discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. Processors can exploitnano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular andquantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimizespace usage or enhance performance of user equipment. A processor canalso be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

As used herein, terms such as “data storage,” data storage,” “database,”and substantially any other information storage component relevant tooperation and functionality of a component, refer to “memorycomponents,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or components comprisingthe memory. It will be appreciated that the memory components orcomputer-readable storage media, described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory or can include both volatile andnonvolatile memory.

What has been described above includes mere examples of variousembodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes ofdescribing these examples, but one of ordinary skill in the art canrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the presentembodiments are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed and/orclaimed herein are intended to embrace all such alterations,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes”is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term isintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as“comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in aclaim.

In addition, a flow diagram may include a “start” and/or “continue”indication. The “start” and “continue” indications reflect that thesteps presented can optionally be incorporated in or otherwise used inconjunction with other routines. In this context, “start” indicates thebeginning of the first step presented and may be preceded by otheractivities not specifically shown. Further, the “continue” indicationreflects that the steps presented may be performed multiple times and/ormay be succeeded by other activities not specifically shown. Further,while a flow diagram indicates a particular ordering of steps, otherorderings are likewise possible provided that the principles ofcausality are maintained.

As may also be used herein, the term(s) “operably coupled to”, “coupledto”, and/or “coupling” includes direct coupling between items and/orindirect coupling between items via one or more intervening items. Suchitems and intervening items include, but are not limited to, junctions,communication paths, components, circuit elements, circuits, functionalblocks, and/or devices. As an example of indirect coupling, a signalconveyed from a first item to a second item may be modified by one ormore intervening items by modifying the form, nature or format ofinformation in a signal, while one or more elements of the informationin the signal are nevertheless conveyed in a manner than can berecognized by the second item. In a further example of indirectcoupling, an action in a first item can cause a reaction on the seconditem, as a result of actions and/or reactions in one or more interveningitems.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement which achieves thesame or similar purpose may be substituted for the embodiments describedor shown by the subject disclosure. The subject disclosure is intendedto cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, can be used in the subject disclosure.For instance, one or more features from one or more embodiments can becombined with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. Inone or more embodiments, features that are positively recited can alsobe negatively recited and excluded from the embodiment with or withoutreplacement by another structural and/or functional feature. The stepsor functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subjectdisclosure can be performed in any order. The steps or functionsdescribed with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure canbe performed alone or in combination with other steps or functions ofthe subject disclosure, as well as from other embodiments or from othersteps that have not been described in the subject disclosure. Further,more than or less than all of the features described with respect to anembodiment can also be utilized.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device, comprising: a processing systemincluding a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructionsthat, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance ofoperations, the operations comprising: transmitting a portion of a firstcontent item to a communication device; obtaining an identification of aregion of interest associated with a playback of the portion of thefirst content item; obtaining first metadata associated with the portionof the first content item responsive to obtaining the identification ofthe region of interest; analyzing the first metadata relative to aplurality of secondary metadata associated with a plurality of secondarycontent items; identifying a secondary content item included in theplurality of secondary content items based on the analyzing; andtransmitting the secondary content item to the communication device. 2.The device of claim 1, wherein the first content item includes apanoramic video.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the playback of theportion of the first content item occurs at the communication device. 4.The device of claim 1, wherein the playback of the portion of the firstcontent item occurs at a second communication device that is coupled tothe communication device.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise: identifying a user of the communicationdevice; and customizing the secondary content item based on theidentifying of the user, resulting in a customized secondary contentitem, wherein the transmitting of the secondary content item comprisestransmitting the customized secondary content item.
 6. The device ofclaim 5, wherein the customizing of the secondary content item based onthe identifying of the user comprises anonymizing information associatedwith the user included in the secondary content item.
 7. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: identifying acapability of the communication device; and identifying a social mediaprofile of a user of the communication device, wherein the identifyingof the secondary content item is further based on the identifying of thecapability and the identifying of the social media profile.
 8. Amachine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processing system including a processor, facilitateperformance of operations, the operations comprising: transmitting aportion of a first content item to a user equipment, wherein the firstcontent item includes a panoramic video; obtaining an identification ofa region of interest associated with a playback of the portion of thefirst content item at the user equipment; obtaining first metadataassociated with the portion of the first content item responsive toobtaining the identification of the region of interest; analyzing thefirst metadata relative to a plurality of secondary metadata associatedwith a plurality of secondary content items; identifying a secondarycontent item included in the plurality of secondary content itemsresponsive to the analyzing; and transmitting the secondary content itemto the user equipment.
 9. The machine-readable medium of claim 8,wherein the identification of the region of interest includes anidentification of a viewing direction associated with the playback ofthe portion of the first content item.
 10. The machine-readable mediumof claim 9, wherein the identification of the region of interestincludes a timestamp associated with the playback of the portion of thefirst content item.
 11. The machine-readable medium of claim 8, whereinthe identifying of the secondary content item is based on anidentification of a user of the user equipment, a credential, a profileof the user, a location of the user equipment, a date, a time, and aschedule of the user.
 12. The machine-readable medium of claim 8,wherein the analyzing includes comparing the first metadata to each ofthe plurality of secondary metadata to identify secondary metadataincluded in the plurality of secondary metadata that has a smallestdifference relative to the first metadata, and wherein the secondarymetadata included in the plurality of secondary metadata is associatedwith the secondary content item included in the plurality of secondarycontent items.
 13. The machine-readable medium of claim 8, wherein theanalyzing includes comparing the first metadata to each of the pluralityof secondary metadata to identify secondary metadata included in theplurality of secondary metadata that has a difference from the firstmetadata that is less than a threshold, and wherein the secondarymetadata included in the plurality of secondary metadata is associatedwith the secondary content item included in the plurality of secondarycontent items.
 14. The machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein theanalyzing includes comparing the first metadata to each of the pluralityof secondary metadata to identify a second secondary metadata includedin the plurality of secondary metadata that has a second difference fromthe first metadata that is less than the threshold, wherein theoperations further comprise: identifying a second secondary content itemincluded in the plurality of secondary content items responsive to theanalyzing, wherein the second secondary content item is associated withthe second secondary metadata; and transmitting the second secondarycontent item to the user equipment.
 15. The machine-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: embedding thesecondary content item in a second portion of the first content item,wherein the transmitting of the secondary content item to the userequipment includes transmitting the second portion of the first contentitem to the user equipment.
 16. The machine-readable medium of claim 8,wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting a second portionof the first content item to the user equipment; obtaining anidentification of a second region of interest associated with a playbackof the second portion of the first content item at the user equipment,wherein the second region of interest is different from the region ofinterest; obtaining second metadata associated with the second portionof the first content item responsive to obtaining the identification ofthe second region of interest, wherein the second metadata is differentfrom the first metadata; analyzing the second metadata relative to theplurality of secondary metadata associated with the plurality ofsecondary content items; identifying a second secondary content itemincluded in the plurality of secondary content items responsive to theanalyzing of the second metadata relative to the plurality of secondarymetadata, wherein the second secondary content item is different fromthe secondary content item; and transmitting the second secondarycontent item to the user equipment.
 17. The machine-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the secondary content item includes a videoadvertisement, wherein the secondary content item includes a tag thatpresents an alert at the user equipment that secondary content has beenreceived at the user equipment, and wherein the operations furthercomprise: receiving an indication of a selection of the videoadvertisement at the user equipment.
 18. A method, comprising:identifying, by a processing system including a processor, a region ofinterest included in a plurality of candidate regions of interestassociated with a presentation of a first content item on a userequipment, wherein the first content item includes a panoramic video;comparing, by the processing system, first metadata associated with theregion of interest to a plurality of metadata associated with aplurality of secondary content items; responsive to the comparing,identifying, by the processing system, a second content item included inthe plurality of secondary content items, wherein the identifying of thesecond content item is based on a difference between the first metadataand second metadata associated with the second content item being lessthan a threshold; and transmitting, by the processing system, the secondcontent item to the user equipment responsive to the identifying of thesecond content item.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:identifying, by the processing system, an object included in the regionof interest based on the first metadata, wherein the second content itemincludes a video advertisement associated with the object.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the panoramic video includes a 360-degreevideo, the method further comprising: receiving, by the processingsystem, a timestamp of a frame of the 360-degree video presented on theuser equipment; receiving, by the processing system, orientationinformation associated with the user equipment; and determining, by theprocessing system, an orientation of a field of view associated with thepresentation of the 360-degree video relative to a reference orientationin the 360-degree video, wherein the reference orientation is based onthe orientation information, and wherein the identifying of the objectis based on the timestamp, a size of the field of view, the orientationof the field of view, and a distance from a central point of the fieldof view to the object.